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I have two jars of Amazonian strain cubensis(1 pint 1 quart), which stalled because my grow partner tapes the holes. I removed the tape about a week ago but have not seen any growth out of the quart. This might also be related to heating issues. Can anybody reccomend a cheap compact way of heating for jar incubation?

--------------------I am the king of Rome, and above grammar! - Emperor Sigismund

"also, is the quart done with grain? if it's pf tek, that's WAY too big, you're not going to see it colonize for a long time."

Yeah they are rye grain. I think the problem is the heat, I just have them next to a stereo which was warm enough until the weather started getting colder. The tub-in-tub is a little too big for me. It's just one pint jar and one quart. Maybe there is a small heating pad or something I could put next to the jars?

--------------------I am the king of Rome, and above grammar! - Emperor Sigismund

flip the jars, if u havnt already.make sure theyre at 85 degrees. dont let them get light, or u can get pins as the substrate isnt finished colonizing .

GL!

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alright, i really do think i should write up a tek on heating pad use, i've been giving advice on using a heating pad for a while now...

realize that the tub-in-tub IS superior to this method because it offers much more constant and even temperature.

if you're going to use a heating pad, safety is your first concern. make sure the surface it's on is fire safe.

place your heating pad on the top of this surface. fold a regular towel to fit over the top of the heating pad. make sure to use at least two layers of towel.

next place a rubbermaid or similar container on top of the heating pad/towel pile you have so far. then get another towel and place it folded on the inside of the rubbermaid. if you have a small rubbermaid, just lay out two dish towels and you should be fine.

the reasoning behind the towels is to spread your heat out along the bottom surface of the rubbermaid while keeping the plastic from touching the heating pad. you don't want a fire, do you?

second major concern is keeping your temperature constant. you need a thermometer inside the rubbermaid, preferrably two. one should be attached to the side so it doesn't touch the bottom, while another should sit on the towel on the bottom. if you only have one, your testing phase is going to take a bit longer.

turn your heating pad on low. wait about an hour for the temperature to get up. check to see what your heat is on both thermometers and record. you're should get a slightly higher reading on the bottom.

try your medium setting. repeat the above step.

what you're shooting for is getting as close as you can to an 84 degree reading on both thermometers WITHOUT going over. if it goes over, your setting is too high. it's better to have a low temperature than a high one, you don't want to dry out your jars. mycelium growth also slows down much more rapidly when you go over the optimum temperature than when you're under.

if you end up with say, an 80 degree reading at one of your settings, try setting a blanket over the whole thing to pump it up a few degrees. you really have to improvise with this method and get what works for you down just right.

if your reading is of a large difference between the bottom and top thermometer reading, try adding towels under the rubbermaid.

if you have any more questions, don't be afraid to ask.

EDIT - a few other things i completely forgot.

i'd reccomend one of those metal cookie cooling racks to keep the jars off of the bottom. that'll help you get the jars at a more constant temperature. if it doesn't sit above the towels because it has small legs, then try setting two of the same thing under the rack to lift it up a bit. if you use the cooling rack, leave one thermometer on the rack and one on the top of a jar. this will give you the variation in jar temperatures and let you know how uneven your heat is. the further you can suspend the jars from the bottom of the container, the better it will work (to a reasonable extent).

oh, and good luck!

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